Encyclopedia Titanica

Mary Hélène Douglas

First Class Passenger

Mary Hélène Douglas
Mary Hélène Douglas

Mrs Frederick Charles Douglas (Mary-Hélène "Suzette" Baxter) was born in Montréal, Québec on 4 April 1885.

She was the daughter of James Baxter (b. circa 1840), a wealthy diamond merchant and banker originally from Ireland, a Protestant, and the former Hélène de Lenaudière Chaput (1862-1923), of a Québécois family.

She had two siblings, James (b. 25 January 1875) and Quigley Edmond “Quigg” (b. 4 July 1887).

Miss Baxter was raised in the affluent Square Mile district of the city, where everyone called her by the nickname ‘Zette.

She was educated in Convent schools and was an adherent to her Catholic faith. It has been reported that she and her siblings, raised as Catholics, spoke in English to their father and in French to their mother.

James Baxter
James Baxter, ‘Zette’s father
Montreal Daily Star, 1 February 1905

The Baxter reputation took a strong bruising in 1900 when ‘Zette’s father was arrested, charged and convicted of embezzlement from his bank, leading to his imprisonment. He died in January 1905 at the family’s St Famille Street residence, leaving his family very comfortably provided for. 

Fred Douglas
Fred Douglas
Montreal Daily Star, 2 May 1906

‘Zette was married at her family residence on 15 January 1908 to Frederick Charles Douglas (b. 15 December 1876 in Québec), a physician of Scots descent and Protestant in his religious upbringing1 and they honeymooned in Florida. The marriage was deemed newsworthy as just shortly after, Archbishop Bruchesi made moves to ban interdenominational marriages taking place in Québec. 

Marriage Article
Montreal Daily Star, 15 January 1908

‘Zette's mother financed a medical clinic on St. Famille Street, so Douglas could go into business for himself, and she paid for his post-graduate studies in London in 1910. However, the influence of her mother’s financial assistance reportedly caused strain within the marriage. The couple were shown on the 1911 census at 33 St Famille Street, the Baxter family residence of ‘Zette’s mother and brother.

In the October of 1911 ‘Zette decided, reportedly against her husband's wishes, to go to Europe with her mother to join her younger brother Quigg, a McGill student who had been coaching and playing hockey in Switzerland and France. Mrs Douglas, although no stranger to transatlantic travel, was a timid ocean traveller and once hastily cancelled a crossing only shortly before departure after a presentiment of danger. 

For the return to Montréal and with a stay in Paris under their belt, ‘Zette, her mother and brother boarded the Titanic at Cherbourg as first-class passengers and she shared cabin B-60 (?58) with her mother. Besides that, her brother Quigg had smuggled aboard his clandestine lover, a Belgian cabaret performer whom he had met in Brussels.

Helen Douglas
The Montreal Star, 16 April 1912

In her cabin at the time of the collision, Mrs Douglas heard a man’s voice stating that the ship was going down; she left her cabin to investigate before returning for her mother who was prostrated with seasickness.

MRS DOUGLAS WAS IN CABIN
Thought everything Was all right because the band played.
New York. April 19—Mrs Douglas, wife of Dr Douglas of Montreal told her story with remarkable clearness, though obviously suffering from the experiences she has recently gone through. She said: ‘I was in my cabin when the impact took place. I heard some one say the boat was going down and went up on deck to see what all the hubbub, which suddenly arose, was about.

‘We women were all assured there was nothing to fear and that the ship had merely scraped an iceberg. When I heard the band playing I thought everything was all right, and was going back to my cabin. When they began to lower the boats on the other side of the ship I then tried to find my mother but was told by an officer that she was already in the boats. He hurried me to the side and I had to jump down. The people in the boat caught me.

‘As far as I could see everything was carried out in first-class order, and while we were within sight of the Titanic I saw no disorder. I don’t think there was any either.

‘I think several people’ must have been drowned by a collapsible boat tipping over, while I know the people who fell off the raft were drowned.

‘I did not see my brother after the collision, and don’t know whether he got into any of the boats or not. I am rather hoping that he did, because three of the boats have yet to be accounted for, and perhaps he is in one of them.’

Mrs Douglas said that she heard nothing of any shooting on the Titanic, and did not believe there was any. Mrs Douglas did not see anything of Mr C. M. Hays or Mr Thornton Davidson.

A different version of events was also presented by Mrs Douglas regarding her brother:

“My brother was not at all disturbed,” said Mrs Douglas, “and while he did not relish being parted from mother and me, he bade us farewell bravely. He was on the deck when we pulled away from the ship. After that we pulled away and lost sight of the Titanic.”

Mrs Douglas and her mother survived the sinking (probably in lifeboat 6). Although deeply saddened by the loss of her brother, ‘Zette remained stoic to care for her mother who was ravaged with grief for the loss of Quigg, by all accounts her favourite. Mother and daugher were met coming off the Carpathia by ‘Zette’s elder brother James and the pair stayed at the Astor residence before returning to Montréal. Her tempered facade crumbled when reunited with her husband and she broke down in tears in his embrace. 

After ‘Zette returned to Montréal she contracted a mild case of polio and henceforth required a leg brace for mobility. 

AVIS DE DEMANDE EN DIVORCE
Avis est par les présentes donné que Hélène Suzette Douglas, de la Cité et du district de Montréal, dans la province de Québec, s'adressera au Parlement du Canada, à sa prochaine session, pour obtenir un Bill de Divorce avec son mari Frederick Charles Douglas, médecin de la cité' et du district de Montréal, dans la province de Québec, pour raison d'adultère et de cuauté.
Fait en la ville de Montréal, dans la Province do Québec, ce cinquième jour d'octobre 1914.

The already troubled marriage between ‘Zette and her husband finally unravelled in October 1914 on account of the latter’s infidelity and they were later divorced. Dr Douglas reportedly later became an alcoholic and lost his hospital privileges and eventually moved to Sherbrooke, Québec. He died in 1949. 

After her mother's passing in 1923, ‘Zette began a relationship with an American-born mechanical engineer, Edwin Cole Richardson2 (b. 17 July 1884), a former resident of Redlands, San Bernardino, California. They were married on 21 January 1933 in a lowkey ceremony.

The marriage was quietly solemnized on Saturday evening of Mrs Suzette Baxter Douglas to Mr Edwin Cole Richardson.

The Rev. Dr G. H. Donald, of the Church of St Andrew and St Paul, officiated. Mr and Mrs Richardson are residing in the Drummond Court.

Following marriage, the couple resettled in Redlands, California, to a house at 715 West Clark Street. By 1950 the couple were living at 217 West Cypress in Redlands, the home of Richardson’s elder brother John and his wife. Edwin was there employed as an engineer at Norton Air Field Base.

According to her nephew, Suzette lived surrounded by "mothballs and memories," until her death in Redlands on 31 December 1954. She is buried in Hillside Memorial Park, Redlands (Block Original 05, lot 1041, Space 5) as Suzette Baxter Richardson.

RICHARDSON-Died in Redlands, Cal., December 31, 1954. Mrs Suzette Baxter Richardson, 715 West Clark street, aged 69 years, native of Montreal, Canada, and resident of Redlands for five years.
Deceased is survived by her husband, Edwin C. Richardson, Redlands

Her widower Edwin Cole Richardson died exactly nine years after her on 31 December 1963; he was cremated and their remains were buried side by side. 

Notes

  1. Although listed on earlier census records as a “Congregationalist” of Scots descent, the 1911 census describes him as Roman Catholic, perhaps having converted following his marriage. 
  2. He is often incorrectly referred to a “Edgar Cole Richardson”. He was born in Franklin, Vermont on 17 July 1884 to farmers John and Helen Richardson but grew up primarily in Redlands, San Bernardino, California. The 1910 census describes him as a mechanical engineer whilst he was still living with his parents at 239 Hilton Avenue, Redlands. By 1931 he was living as a lodger at an apartment complex in Saint-Georges, Montréal and was described as an unmarried mechanical engineer. 

References and Sources

Certificate of Baptism
Montreal Star, 15 January 1908
Toronto Star, 3 February 1908, Catholic Wedded by a Protestant
The Gazette, 19 April 1912, The Baxters
Hamilton Spectator, 19 April 1912
Winnipeg Tribune, 19 April 1912

Newspaper Articles

The Globe (16 April 1912) Many Canadians On Fated Steamer
Edmonton Daily Bulletin (30 April 1912) Two Canadian Survivors And A Victim Of The Titanic
Quigg Baxter, Mrs Baxter and Mrs Douglas

Bibliography

Alan Hustak (1999) Titanic: The Canadian Story, Véhicule Press. ISBN 1 55065 113 7

Helene Douglas Catholic Wedded by a Protestant

Titanic Passenger Summary

Name: Mrs Mary Hélène Douglas (née Baxter)
Age: 27 years and 11 days (Female)
Nationality: Canadian
Religion: Roman Catholic
Marital Status: Married to Frederick Charles Douglas
Last Residence: in Montréal, Québéc, Canada
Embarked: Cherbourg on Wednesday 10th April 1912
Ticket No. 17558, £247 10s 5d
Cabin No. B58/60
Rescued (boat 6)  
Disembarked Carpathia: New York City on Thursday 18th April 1912
Died: Friday 31st December 1954 aged 69 years
Buried: Hillside Memorial Park, Redlands, California, United States

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